Who are WoW Addicts?

WOWaholics is a website that provides information that helps people overcome WOW addiction and it provides a space where addicts can confess and get advice. Wowaholism is a main topic that is defined by the website. WOWaholism can be defined as, a physical or mental addiction that leads to abuse or dependence of WoW. The abuse can be mentally or physically harmful and can eventually lead into the dependence on WoW. The dependence yields withdrawal symptoms, playing in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms, cravings and relapses. The main difference between WOWaholism in comparison to alcoholism is the lack of physical withdrawal symptoms that come along with alcohol abuse. These include hazard to health, built up tolerance, and withdrawal symptoms such as chills and headaches.

Although the WOWaholics website claims that there is no hazard to health from playing WoW, I would disagree for two main reasons. The first, people who play WoW have repeatedly reported that their diets become unhealthy when they play. This has a negative impact on one’s health. I agree it is not as serious as alcohol damage to the liver, but none the less it is still hazardous to one’s health. A man named Greg posted about how WoW affected him physically:

Physical:
-Many nights gone without sleep and going to work the next day, many times logging off and eyes hurting, head spinning, and “dreaming” of wow, shitty ass diet

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pjNNmsMj50[/youtube]

Second, I believe that it is possible to build up a tolerance to WoW. The further addicted people become to WoW, the more hours they need to play in order to fulfill their cravings. People become more attached to their characters and missions and the raids become more difficult and longer to win. Therefore it would be more difficult to stop playing, and people would need to play longer until they felt satisfied.

Dr. Orzack, a clinical psychologist at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts, claims that up to 40% of WoW players are addicted. She credits the addiction more to the games than the players because the games use variable ratio reinforcement-“the idea that the best way to optimize the desired behavior in the subject is to hand out rewards for correct behavior, and then adjust the number of times the subject is required to exhibit that behavior before a reward is handed out.”

The characteristics of the people in WOWaholics are typical of any addict. Both males and females self-report addiction to WoW. People of all ages play WoW, however the average player is 28 years old and plays 22.7 hours a week. They express cravings for the realms, guilds, and magical land of Azeroth which are much more engaging than the real world. The addicts essentially lose touch with reality and become much more involved with online “friends” than real friends which leads to a decreased social life. The addiction leads these people to fail school, lose their jobs, or remain unemployed, and have conversations solely revolving around WoW.

The Guardian news media website reflected on the issue of videogame addiction and how it is harmful to health. These same harms apply to WoW players and raises the issue of addiction in society.

Over the past five years, stories in the media have described people suffering exhaustion after playing a game for 50 hours straight, teens killing their parents after having games taken away and parents neglecting infants while mesmerised by the online world.

Many of the members of this culture also recognize that their cravings for WoW never go away, regardless of how many years they have been “clean”. The most common characteristic of WoW addicts is the suffering of their relationships with friends, significant others, family, and children. There are many accounts of loss of husband or wife due to WoW addiction. Essentially these addicts have so little control over their lives that they fail to realize how detrimental their addiction has become. In one instance a man is so engrossed with WoW he fails to realize he has lost his wife and ignores his children:

Our daughter thrives for his attention and he won’t give her the time of day…When he is asked to do something he throws a fit b/c it pulls him off his game. We used to do things together but now we have nothing in common…I’ve made myself numb, I don’t know what it’s like to have affection, love, or an adult conversation. It has literally been over 2yrs since we’ve sat and watched a movie or show together. I wish I could help him understand that he has already lost me and he’s about to lose his children. -clj1127

This image of a man addicted to his computer represents the trance many people fall into while using technology. Source: Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders

The accessibility to this culture through the internet leads to a culture that is more diverse in the race, ethnicity, religion and beliefs of the members of the culture. However, all of the participants speak English and use WoW jargon. They are also all literate and share the common emotion of frustration, struggle, persistence, and openness which are seen through their interaction on the website.

In order to find out more about WOWaholics check out their website which provides useful links on the WOWaholics website are, 12 Steps to Quit WoW, WOW Addict Videos, Dopamine and WoW Addiction, WoW addiction Intro, Doctor Treatment, WoW Addiction Resources, and a WoW Addiction Test. The website also provides links to helpful articles for overcoming the WOW addiction.